Wednesday, March 26, 2025
Good morning! We’re looking today at how environmental policies are shifting with the new administration. First up, U.S. Rep. Buddy Carter sponsored a bill to roll back a key air pollution regulation. Then we have a roundup of how farmers in Georgia and elsewhere are dealing with the possible loss of promised renewable energy assistance. Finally, a report looking back at 2024 shows growth in EV production and sales across the Southeast.
Questions, tips or concerns? Send me a note at mary.landers@thecurrentga.org
NEWS: ENVIRONMENT
Carter moves to weaken pollution rule
U.S. Rep. Buddy Carter has introduced legislation to weaken the regulation of harmful air pollution, targeting the EPA’s rule on particulate matter. That’s the very fine particles that form soot. Emitted from power plants and vehicle exhaust among other sources, fine particles aggravate asthma and contribute to heart attacks. Carter’s move appears to be in support of a March 12 edict from EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin that listed 31 health and safety measures he wants eliminated, as The Current’s Mary Landers reports.
FEATURE: ENVIRONMENT
Funding freeze leaves farmers in limbo
The Trump administration’s freeze on funding from the Inflation Reduction Act has left farmers and rural businesses in Georgia and across the country on the hook for costly energy efficiency upgrades and solar panel installations, with some farmers already spending tens of thousands of dollars on projects and others having to delay work they were counting on to support their businesses. Emily Jones of WABE/Grist and colleagues from public radio stations across the country report.
ANALYSIS: ENVIRONMENT
EV outlook robust in Southeast
The Southern Alliance for Clean Energy and Atlas Public Policy have released updated year-end 2024 market data showing electric vehicle market growth across the Southeast.
The data tracks manufacturing employment, manufacturing investment, sales, charging infrastructure, utility investment, and public funding. Highlights include:
- Southeastern states have been awarded more than $900 million from the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act and the Inflation Reduction Act to deploy charging infrastructure and purchase EVs, including 1,035 electric school buses.
- The Southeast continues to lead the nation in EV manufacturing investments, totaling $81.2 billion, and anticipated jobs at 75,100.
- EV sales across the region increased by 38% as market share hit 7.5%, up sharply from 2.5% in 2021.
- EV charger deployment increased by 30%, bringing the total number of public EV chargers to 27,480.
The EV growth across the Southeast is reflected in Coastal Georgia, too. The $7.6 billion Hyundai plant is the local showpiece, but data from the Georgia Department of Revenue also shows growth in the number of EVs in each coastal county. Chatham had the largest growth, with 2,323 EVs — nearly 1% of the vehicles in the county — registered as of last week.
Also noted
- Chatham County is holding a Climate Resilience Workshop from 5:30-7 p.m. today, March 26 at the Coastal Georgia Center, 305 Fahm St., Savannah. Residents interested in shaping the future of unincorporated Chatham County and the City of Savannah, particularly regarding climate resilience and environmental challenges, are invited to participate in the workshop titled Reviewing Regulations for Resilience: How Our Policies Can Help Us Respond to Sea Level Rise and Climate Change.
- If you think you know all about collards, and most Southerners do, think again with this story from The Conversation: How an unexpected observation, a 10th-century recipe and an explorer’s encounter with a cabbage thief upend what we know about collard greens’ journey to the American South.
- With sea turtle nesting season just around the corner, check out turtle research from the University of North Carolina here, including a video of an adorable little dance loggerhead hatchlings do when they expect food. The research, published in the journal Nature, provides evidence of the long-held theory that sea turtles navigate by magnetic fields.
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Rep. Carter moves to weaken air pollution standard
U.S. Rep. Earl “Buddy” Carter has introduced legislation to weaken the regulation of harmful air pollution, specifically targeting the EPA’s strengthened standards for particulate matter pollution, which could save billions of dollars in public health benefits.
Farmers, small businesses still waiting on promised financial help for energy upgrades
The Trump administration’s freeze on funding from the Inflation Reduction Act has left farmers and rural businesses in Georgia and across the country on the hook for costly energy efficiency upgrades and renewable energy installations, with some farmers already spending tens of thousands of dollars on projects and others having to delay work […]
Amid growing unease in his backyard, U.S. Rep. Buddy Carter holds telephone town hall
Republican congressman Buddy Carter held a telephone town hall from Washington instead of in-person town halls in Coastal Georgia, despite pressure from House leaders to not hold them, and fielded questions on topics such as unfavorable judges and the fate of Social Security, Medicaid, and Medicare.
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